The Illusion
by Marine-Depths13
Summary: It's Christmas in Konoha, and Naruto's hosting a Secret Santa Exchange. It was here at the party that Gaara finds himself acting strange around … Sasuke? Gaara soon realizes why- he was in love with him. SasuGaa. Post Shippuden. Full Summary Inside.
1. Prologue: An Update to Life

**"The Illusion"**

**Genre:** Romance/Humor

**Rating:** T [may change in later chapters]

**Full Summary: **_It's Christmas in Konoha, and this year Naruto's hosting a Secret Santa Exchange. The hyperactive blonde invited everyone he knew and liked, Suna siblings included. It was here, at the party that was deciding who would get who for the SSE, that Gaara finds himself acting strange around a … certain someone. Nervous glances, the stutter, the faint pink appearing on his cheeks whenever they spoke; Sai helped him to realize… Gaara was in love with Sasuke. When Sasuke finally realizes the odd behavior of not just now, but that past year, isn't just rivalry ... but the boy having a _crush _... the sudden idea of being Gaara's Secret Santa becomes so much more daunting. SasuGaa. Post Shippuden, all ages based one year ahead of._

**Pairing: **SasuGaa

**Pairings if you squint or that are one-sided: **NaruSaku, SaiIno, ShinoHina, ShikaTema, NejiTen, KankuTen … There are probably a lot more that will pop up as I write, but a lot of them are just subtle hints, I guess. Nothing prominent.

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M-D13: I'm back, yet again, but this time with a ... chapter story!? LIEKWTFFREAK. This had started out as an ill-formed story idea, meant to be short, sweet, and simple. Obviously, since, in writing (not typing), I have already chapter 8 reeling out, this is _not_ short and _not _simple. I suppose that's okay - I'm fairly dead on here anyways.

Pein: ... Thankfully ...

M-D13: I can kick you out of my author's notes any time I wish I hope you know!

Pein: Please do so soon, then ... -_-

M-D13: ... ... ... ANYWAYS. -ignores him completey- This is a shounen-ai story, possibly yaio in the near future if I happen to up it a notch (in which case I will obviously change the rating). This prologue is VERY short, but only because it is, as the title says, an update to life. It's just telling you, as the reader, what is going on- the setting. I'm putting chapter one up right after I put this up, so that I don't leave a bad impression. Chapter one is much longer, and as they go they fluctuate lengths - but none will be as short as this. But enough of my rambling!

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing in this story that is mentioned throughout this chapter or the following; all rights go to the respective creator.**

I don't know why I need that. Everyone knows I don't own shit -_-;

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**Prologue: An Update to Life**

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It had started out like any other week during December— the wind made the air 10 degrees colder, and the streets were crowded with Christmas-time shoppers and high spirits overflowing with generosity. It was no different in Konoha. Around the time of the year, in early December, shinobi were given time off here and there, and the world seemed to slow as a quiet peace resonated throughout the fire country, which was, ironically enough, covered in winter snow.

Especially high in sprits was none other than Uzumaki Naruto. The blonde Chuunin (indeed, Naruto was a chuunin now; he had passed the exam shortly after the whole ordeal with the Akatsuki was finished) was even more of a bundle of joy than he was before, which was really saying something. He was particularly excited over the Christmas day party that he was throwing, but today was just as good. Today was another party—the Secret Santa party. The rookie 9, Gai's team, and even (surprisingly enough) the Suna siblings were planning to attend, and they would all meet at Naruto's home around 6 or so. There, they would be drawing names for the Secret Santa Exchange. This was going to be the first year that the 16-year-old blonde had wanted to actually attempt this idea, considering their "family" was now complete again— Sasuke Uchiha had returned.

The Uchiha boy had returned to the village one year ago at the most. After the fight with the Akatsuki, life had moved in slow motion for the fire country, and eventually, everything settled back down—and Naruto, keeping his promise even after all those years, dragged Sasuke back home. He was often being watched carefully by Kakashi or Yamato, as instructed by the 5th Hokage, so they could make sure he wouldn't run off again. Though most of Konoha knew that Sasuke had nowhere else left to go, and, whether he would admit it or not, he was glad (though that may be too strong of a word) to be home. He wasn't yet a citizen, but a "temporary" resident—he still resided within the Uchiha compound, and often went on small missions with Naruto or Sakura, and occasionally his "replacement", Sai. Tsunade said that once the new year came, the boy could take a test to officially become a member of the village again. Until then, however, he was a guest in a place he used to live.

Naruto was glad, too (however that word, opposite to Sasuke, would be an understatement). Anyone would agree that Team 7 (or "Team Kakashi" as Naruto calls it) just wasn't the same without Sasuke around to push Naruto's buttons. However, the team of 4 (with Kakashi included) was often now raised to 5. Sai, who had been dubbed "Sasuke's Replacement" and used to be the outcast of Konoha, now saw that he was a seamless member.

Over the year he'd lived there, he had grown to fit in well and, with the help of his teammates and friends (which he was told he was obligated to call them all now), had learned almost all his social interactions without too much flaw. There was the occasional moment where Sai found himself with a throbbing headache from saying something wrong to Sakura, or a sore cheek from getting slapped by Ino, but overall he had learned what to and not do. It had required quite a bit of pain techniques, however.

Sai and Ino had grown close over the months, becoming quite attached to each other. However, everyone was positive there was no romance— Ino was still obviously infatuated with Sasuke, as it showed especially when he would be hanging around with Sakura and Naruto. She'd be flirting with him in a second, starting a fight almost right afterwards with Sakura. To Naruto's frustration (and Sasuke's headache), Sakura had started to show signs of infatuation with Sasuke again, though it still wasn't as strong as it had been before Sasuke had left. Still, the emotion from the girl disappointed Naruto immensely to some degree— after all, Sakura had just begun to notice him. Well, apparently, things really i_were_/iback to the way used to be and even though those times used to anger him, Naruto couldn't have been happier.

Naruto plopped down on his withered, beaten couch, a bowl of steaming (instant-cup) ramen in one hand, chopsticks posed in the other. With a smile, he began to eat, slurping noisily in the silent room. As he paused for a moment in his lunch, his eyes trailed down to a sheet of paper on the table in front of him, names of friends and teammates alike listed on it. He needed to cut up the names and put them into a bowl or a hat or something soon. The group would be coming over soon, to draw names and have a small party before the actual party. Once the actual party rolled around on Christmas, the Secret Santa exchange would go on. Afterwards, the sexes would separate out, and each would have a party at someone's one—for the boy's, they stayed at Naruto's, and the girls went over to Sakura's. The most important part of this was, however, the party before all that.

'_A pre-party__,_' Naruto thought to himself, smiling as he swallowed the last of the instant-ramen. He stretched, careful of the bowl in his hands, and then stood up as he started to walk out to the kitchen. Idly, he dumped the bowl and chopsticks into the sink and began making his way to the bedroom. Might as well clean himself up before he attempted to do the same with the house.

Well, at least it was already decently decorated.

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M-D13: Gaah, painfully short. But, like I stated earlier, none of the chapters after this will be short. I'm too tired to say too much else on the subject, so ... -looks pointedly to Pein-

Pein: ... - siiighhh- **Don't flame, R&R, all that yadda yadda crap no one cares about** ...

M-D13: ... ... Thank you for reading, too. -_-


	2. Chapter 1: That Person Closest to You

M-D13: Like promised, here is chapter 1 in conjuction with the prologue! Now, I won't update with chapter 2 (even though I have it typed) because I want this up for a bit, to see if people are even interested in reading it. I'm not fishing for reviews- I hate people who pull the "I'll only update once I get 15 more reviews!!!" because that's just stupid. I'll update whenever I have a decent sum of the later chapters typed up. So, I hope you'll look forward to it! Again, as promised, this is longer ^^

And because I gave Pein a vacation (-mutter- more like temporary firing), I'll do the disclaimer myself: **DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything that is brought up in this storyline, all characters belong to respective owner, yadda yadda yadda ... **My, I sound like Pein now. o_O Been hanging around in these disclaimers too much, it seems.

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**Chapter 1: That Person Closest to You**

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The doorbell rang about an hour later, startling Naruto, causing the boy to lose his balance from the ladder he had been standing on. With a large crash, he and the ladder both went crashing down to the ground, successfully tearing down the decoration that Naruto had just put up. With a trembling hand due to shock, the blonde clutched at his throbbing head. Now he had a headache. He craned his head back, looking at the front door,

"Just come in!" Naruto shouted to the person outside, hoping they heard him. He couldn't be bothered to get up and move the few feet to the door. A moment later, the door opened to reveal a bundle-up Sakura—always the first to arrive to anything. She smiled down at her through the scarf around her neck, but it was soon replaced by a frown as she saw that he was sitting on the floor, a fallen (flimsy) ladder behind him.

"Naruto," she started gently, chiding slightly, "What did you think you were doing?" The pink-haired girl quickly took off her winter apparel, hung them on the equally flimsy coat racket, and rushed over to him. "Are you all right?" She asked, kneeling down beside him.

He offered a cheeky grin as he rubbed his head a little bit, "Haha, don't worry Sakura-chan … I was just trying to hang some mistletoe," He provided, chuckling. "Guess the ladder wasn't as sturdy as I thought it was."

She frowned and let out a sigh, "Moron…" She murmured, extending her gloved hand in an offering of help. Naruto grabbed in without too much thought and she tugged him up from the ground. "Why mistletoe?" Sakura wondered aloud as the boy was pulled to his feet. Naruto just brushed himself off idly, and simply shrugged,

"Well, it's Christmas, isn't it?" He mused absently. "It ain't Christmas if you don't have some mistletoe in the doorway. Plus it's amusing to watch people try to avoid it." Sakura just smiled lightly, letting out another sigh****though this time it seemed to be in amusement. She just shook her head,

"I suppose Christmas isn't Christmas without it," she agreed, causing Naruto to grin widely. Sakura just chuckled and pointed to the ladder, "Well, I know what _your_ Secret Santa is going to get you****a new ladder." The blonde just stuck out his tongue and was about to retort and say that the pink-haired girl could, in turn, use some hair dye, when the door opened suddenly. Both of the Chuunin to jump in surprise as a cold air rushed in, along with a black-haired youth in all definition.

"Naruto! I have arrived!" Rock Lee yelled excitedly, grinning as he kicked the door shut behind him. The tacky orange scarf around his neck was pulled down, to allow better speech, as he gave a mock salute, "I hope I am not too early!" He paused, "Oh, Sakura-chan! Nice to see that you have arrived, as well!"

Sakura idly raised a hand in a wave, smiling warmly, "Hey, Lee."

"Bushy Brows!" Naruto chirped, laughing and waving his arm above his head in an excited greeting, "Hey!" He grinned at the older boy, and Lee flashed his signature (and always sparkling_ smile. "Not too early at all!"

"Yosh!" He cracked a wide smile again, but it was soon lost as curiosity replaced his facial features. "Naruto, what happened?" The older boy questioned, blinking. Naruto looked confused for a moment, until Lee pointed to his own forehead to simplify. "Your forehead is bleeding," He clarified. The blonde idly touched his forehead, bangs flopped over top from the lack of headband, and brought his fingers to his face; blood was tainting the digits at a slightly alarming rate. Naruto scowled,

"Aw, dammit," He murmured, cussing, and allowing a sigh to escape from his lips. He could feel the blood dripping down from his forehead now****if he didn't clean it up soon, he'd probably end up with it in his eyes. "I'll go clean it up quick, before every else arrives." He flashed a smile to Lee's worried face, to reassure him silently that he was fine, and then wandered off towards the bathroom. The other guests arrived eventually (and luckily all after Naruto had cleaned himself up), one by one, or in a group. Most of the teams came together or in pairs, or the couples … if there even were any. Naruto figured a lot of people would be hooking up around this time (which was actually his secret motive for the mistletoe, but, uh, don't tell Sakura!) ****perhaps even the Secret Santa might spark a few flames. Nobody really knew.

The party already seemed to be in gear. Throughout Naruto's small (but, for this occasion, clean) home, everyone was scattered about through the kitchen (where a table with food and drinks had been set up) and the living room, happily chattering amongst themselves. Well, everyone except for****

"Sasuke," Naruto hissed in annoyance, eyes scanning over the faces in the two rooms, and, surprise surprise, sour-puss himself still had yet to show his "pretty little face." Irritably, the blonde sipped at a cup of punch, looking around as if he expected Sasuke to appear and materialize out of thin air. Of course, he wasn't, so Naruto settled for scowling blindly at a spot on the wall****because, you know, the whole incident was the wall's fault. Naruto probably could've found some way to blame that very wall, just like he could blame Sasuke and Sasuke alone for being at least an hour late (it couldn't have been the snow's fault or anything). Since the Uchiha's arrival home, he had acquired the bad habit of being late. Personally, the blonde chuunin blamed Orochimaru**** after all, why would you want to be early to anything i_he_/i taught? Naruto shuddered at the thought.

The blue eyes scanned idly over the faces again, brought out of his train of thought, seeing everyone laughing and talking with someone (or just enjoying the company, in the case of Shino with Hinata) ... well, everyone except for one.

In the far corner of the living room, behind all the music and talk, with his head hung and eyes fixated onto the floor, was none other than Gaara. There was a visible empty circle, a vicinity, that no one had occupied****coincidentally, it was around the Kazekage. It wasn't that no one here liked him, because at least a few of them did (obviously Gaara's siblings liked him), but everyone seemed too engrossed with the other faces at the party to notice him. So, that was where he stood****in the corner, by himself, looking just as lonely as he had when he was 12.

The eyes of the Kazekage looked hollow, alone, and he made no movement whatsoever as he leaned against the wall, silently watching the ground.

Naruto frowned at the scene, before forcing a grin, "Gaara!" He addressed, wandering over to the silent boy. The Kazekage brought his eyes up, and Naruto couldn't help the pang that was suddenly in his chest as he looked into Gaara's hollow eyes. They held a loneliness that Naruto knew, but hadn't seen in years. He hadn't seen the same pain in Gaara's eyes in awhile, which meant something was desperately on his mind. Though it wasn't like Naruto could help the boy****not that he didn't want to, but Gaara didn't ever seem like he wanted to speak of his problems.

"So, uh," he started off awkwardly, "What're you doing over here, all by yourself?" Naruto asked curiously, leaning on the wall beside him. Gaara shrugged lightly, and then returned his eyes silently to the floor. He couldn't tell Naruto that he didn't want to talk to anyone that was here (not like any of them were talking to him anyways)— nor could he admit that he was actually waiting for a certain _someone_ to show up. No, he couldn't tell him any of that, no matter how close the two of them had grown. After all, Gaara hadn't even told Temari or Kankuro—so why should he tell Naruto?

The Kazekage decided to make something up, "Everyone else is busy." The lie slid off easily, and Naruto's eyes lit up in an understanding. '_Pity_,' Gaara thought to himself, '_He will believe close to anything I say … Does he really, or is just a way to avoid pushing me? I wonder._'

As if to reassure what Gaara was saying was true, the fox's baby blue eyes trailed across the faces of the crowd. Kankuro was currently preoccupied with talking about Karasu to a curious TenTen, while Temari was off flirting with an oblivious Shikamaru. Neji, who spoke with Gaara on occasion, was talking with Lee (who spoke with and considered Gaara a close friend, whether he liked it or not), but was obviously distracted as he kept a close eye on TenTen and Kankuro. The boy frowned, seeing that everyone else who spoke to Gaara was, indeed, busy.

"Well," Naruto started absently, "Mind if I hang with you?" He smiled at the shorter red-haired boy, who simply shrugged again.

"No… I suppose I don't mind," Gaara replied idly, his eyes trailing from the floor up to the faces of everyone around. Kankuro now found himself in a bad position, with Neji ready to attack the boy for starting to flirt with TenTen. Temari had wandered over to the scene and demanded them all to just "shut up and have fun for once" and that Kankuro "should just stop harassing people" (which just sparked a fight between the older Suna siblings). Hinata was attached to Shino's hip, as per usual when they were in large crowds of people, and was staring in Naruto's direction every now and then, with the Kyuubi-holder never noticing. Kiba was plucking food from the table in the kitchen and feeding the large Akamaru with it as well as himself. Chouji was accompanying him and stuffing his own face, a plate full of food in his hand. Everyone was seemingly happy, and content around the presence of the others (well, Gaara noted, except for Ino and Sakura, who were currently in an heated argument with each other—Sai was watching them like you would a tennis match, his head moving in time with their come backs).

Gaara felt himself frown, in despite of Naruto's (silent) company. While it was nice to at least have someone near him, Naruto was the sort of person who was nice to everyone and even went out of his way to achieve this. The redhead brought his gaze to said blonde, who was currently turned away and laughing at something Lee had said. '_It's not really fair,_' Gaara thought to himself bitterly. Everyone at this party had someone that they were especially close to, and that someone was usually the closest to the other. Unlike everyone else, he didn't have that, not with anyone. Sure, he was close with Naruto (and his siblings), but there were still so many things that Gaara would never speak of to the blonde.

Maybe it was because Naruto … wasn't the person that Gaara wanted to be close with.

There was a sudden, loud knock on the door— a simple, hard rap that seemed to almost silence all the chattering (or bickering) voices. Naruto looked over, and then slowly made his way over, drink still in hand. Even though there were no more knocks after that first one, Naruto knew there was someone behind it. The blonde accidentally let the door swing open from the sudden strong wind, but then cracked a wide grin as he saw who was behind it. Standing on the mat and shivering, with flakes of snow falling into his hair, was none other than who he had been expecting.

"Sasuke!" Naruto chirped, but the smile fell as Sasuke glared at him.

After a moment, Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "You gonna bother to let me in, Dobe? It's cold," the Uchiha murmured, in a bad mood already, as Naruto moved aside huffing.

"Yeah, sure, but it's about damn time you came!" The fox snapped as he slammed the door (again, by accident— the wind was rough that night) behind his teammate. Sasuke shook his head, ridding the snow from his hair, and started to take off his jacket.

He scoffed as he hung the apparel on the other abundance of jackets on the coat rack, "I had told you when you announced the party that I couldn't get here on time. I said I'd be late," Sasuke argued.

Naruto gaped, "No you didn't!"

"I did _too_."

The two began to bicker, and soon afterwards, the party came back to life, especially after a shout of "nice of you to show up, princess!" from none other than Kankuro, who, everyone knew, hated Sasuke heatedly. A couple more shouts of "hello" and "nice of you to finally make it" were heard to everyone else but Sasuke, who was already into a heated shouting match with Naruto. The said blonde was starting to revert in maturity, and had clapped his hands over his ears, singing "la la la la I'm not listening" as he tuned out the other boy.

Gaara was the only one in the party who did not "come back to life," not like he was before Sasuke had arrived, anyway. He watched the two boys childishly ridicule each other, completely unaware he was staring … more specifically at Sasuke. His eyes stayed locked on the teammates, unaware of his own falling features. Bitter, he quickly turned away, tearing his eyes from the two and started out of the room. '_Naruto … is that person closest to Sasuke_…' he thought to himself, unaware of how much that really hurt to think. His chest clenched, and Gaara shut his eyes as if that would rid it. With precision, he silently exited the room, thinking he went unnoticed, and headed towards the back door. He needed to be alone.

With precision, he silently exited the room, thinking he went unnoticed, and headed towards the back door. He needed to be alone.

Only Sai saw him leave.

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M-D13: Ooooh, cliff-hanger! Ahaha, sort of. Anyways, I'm lazy, and don't have too much of an end authors note xD; Chapter 2 will arrive soon enough, whenever I feel like posting it. Let me know if there are any errors, I skimmed it over but I may have missed some things... especially formatting errors, since I had originally had this in an HTML format for another site.

Anyways! ^_^

**R&R Please! Thanks for reading!!**


	3. Chapter 2: Between You and Me

M-D13: So, I just love how I haven't even gotten a single review for this, but at least 30 hits. ^_^ I'm going to update even if you all want to shoot me for it. I really don't care. But, you know, if you read it ... couldn't you at least REVIEW it? Please? ._. ; I'm not begging for 10 reviews until I update, but at least ONE would be nice Dx

You can even tell me I suck =D I'll take that, too.

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing in this story that is mentioned throughout this chapter or the following; all rights go to the respective creator, same thing as always, yadda yadda yadda ...**

... Pein's obviously still on vacation ...

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**Chapter 2: Between You and Me**

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Gaara sighed as he pulled himself onto Naruto's flimsy roof (it seemed everything in his house was), hoping the entire time that it wouldn't collapse in on him (the coat rack below him had already met its demise, sadly enough). Already it had become dark out, as winter often did to the earlier times, and only trace amounts of stars were visible among the cloudy night sky. The moon was hidden halfway behind a stretched cloud and the wind whipped hard pellets of snow and ice into his face. It stung his cheeks, turning them red, but Gaara ignored the bitter cold and the pain.

Still, it was silent up there save the occasional howl of the wind—but that was okay, because silence was what Gaara needed right now.

'_It's stupid_,' He thought bitterly to himself, eyes absently watching a snowflake fixedly as it fell to the dirt street below him. '_It was a stupid idea to come here in the first place…_'

Idly, his hand moved up to grip at his chest from underneath the thick dark-red material of the cloak he wore. The more thought about it, about _him_, the more he hurt… yet his continued to wander back to that pale face with the dark onyx eyes … Gaara shuddered at the thought and shook his head. He couldn't get that boy out of his head—

"Aren't you cold, Gaara-kun?"

The redhead's shoulders seemed to jump slightly, surprised, as he craned his head around. Who bothered to come up here? Better yet, who even noticed he had left?

"Sai …"Gaara mused detachedly, watching the black-haired boy pull himself completely onto the roof. Of all the people in the room, Sai had somehow noticed him leave. It came more so as a surprise that is was Sai specifically (he would've been less surprised even if Sakura had been the one coming up onto the roof); the two boys had never spoken so much as a word to the other. "What are you doing up here?"

The artist just smiled. "I followed you," He said simply. "I remember reading in one of my books awhile ago—"

'_Again with the books…_' Gaara thought sourly, face in a slight scowl. Sai didn't notice.

"—and it mentioned that if one of my friends left somewhere—"

Gaara cocked his head at that one, '_Since when was I his_ friend_?_ _We've barely even spoken…_'

"—without telling anyone, I should follow them to assure his safety," Sai explained, still smiling in that manner that had become trademark to him. He was oblivious that Gaara was making a commentary of him inside his head. Even now, the boy was pondering what sort of books the artist liked to read, seeing as almost any human interaction that was explainable was found in some sort of book that Sai had read. Did people honestly just sit there and record things like this for people like Sai? One had to wonder.

The Kazekage frowned, pushed his thoughts aside, and then turned around so he was facing Sai. "Thank you," He murmured to be polite, "However … I'm fine," Gaara mumbled quietly, bitterly, hoping that the other boy would just leave him alone. He had no such luck as Sai sat down beside him in a cross-legged position, idly resting his hands on his knees.

"I myself," Sai started idly, raising an eyebrow, "am a very good liar." He looked up to the sky with his mind seemingly elsewhere for a moment before he continued, "You're troubled by something, I can see right through you." The black-haired male looked back at Gaara, onyx eyes clashing with blue-green. He smiled gently, meaning no harm, and Gaara stared at him in unhidden surprise. However, he had to admit it—Sai was smart. With all the experience that Sai had with lying himself, it was no wonder that he could, as Kakashi often preached, "see through deception" with ease.

"Well … I …" Gaara broke the gaze to look down at the silent, unmoving street below as he unintentionally trailed off. Frowning, he dug for the thought and how to phrase it. It was exactly the most easily explainable problem, seeing as the young Kazekage didn't even understand fully himself …

"Hard to explain?" Sai assessed after the silence he received from the other boy.

Gaara turned to glare at him. "Stay out of my head," he murmured, although somehow the "threat" sounded amused. Sai smiled softly again at the boy, and then the awkward and thoughtful silence returned.

It seemed like a long time before the silence was finally broken yet again. "I …" Gaara tried to start again, "I'm just … confused." Sai listened attentively, with undivided attention (probably something he had learned from another book); he didn't speak or interrupt, he simply watched, listened, and understood what few words the Kazekage spoke. "I … don't exactly understand it myself…" He mused, furrowing his brows (or lack there of?), "It's … weird." The red haired boy brought his blue-green eyes up to the sky, staring absently at the slowly appearing moon. "I'm not sure how to explain it."

Sai cocked his head. "Well, explain it in parts, then," he said simply, and offered that same smile he had given before.

"Well …"Gaara trailed off again, and glanced to Sai to make sure that the boy wasn't getting irritated at the slow rate of explanation. He wasn't—he was smiling still (he seemed to always, though—at least nowadays it was pure and meaningful), waiting patiently. Urged on by the sincerity, Gaara attempted to think even further, trying harder to dissect the problem. Even though Sai and he had barely even spoken, bare an exchange of a few words now and then, Gaara found himself telling (or, beginning to, at this rate) him about something that was so personal he had barely told _himself_. "I … think … It's Sasuke," Gaara finally murmured out.

Sai looked thoughtful, "Oh, the asshole?"

"He's not an asshole!" Gaara suddenly snapped, quickly standing up and glaring down at the other boy. Sai blinked in surprise, looking genuinely confused. It took a moment before the Kazekage realized what he had just done, "Ah …" He turned a bright red, "I … Sorry," he slowly sat back down, his bangs hiding his face as he hung his head slightly, ashamed—how could he lose his temper so easily … over something so _trivial_? "I … don't know why I … why I did that…"

Sai's face had returned to one of impassive features, before he smiled gently again, nodding, silently saying the boy was forgiven. "Actually, it helped." Gaara looked up in surprise, but before he could say anything, Sai continued, smiling. "I understand the problem, now," he replied to nothing, seemingly unaffected by the sudden anger of the usually quiet boy beside him.

"You … understand?" Gaara mimicked, looking curious. How had Sai figured out the problem when Gaara didn't even understand it himself?

Sai smiled a little wider, and nodded, "I'm pretty positive I do." He paused for a moment, and then pointed idly to the boy, "However, may I ask you a question or two? This way I can be sure."

"Uh, sure. Fire away," Gaara mumbled, still in shock. Deep down, he was hiding excitement—he was finally getting an answer soon.

"When you're around Sasuke-kun," Sai started, and Gaara couldn't help but take note of the "-kun" attachment—probably to prevent the redhead from yelling at him again… "How do you feel?" Gaara snapped out of his thoughts just in time to hear the question,

Confusion was evident on the redhead's features, but he replied anyway, "Well … I … I feel weird, almost like I'm … I'm _sick_ or something." He looked down, avoiding eye contact, "I can't talk to him with…without stuttering, and my face gets hot … but, what's weirder is … when he's with Naruto, or … Sakura even, I … I feel j_ealous_ for some reason …" He trailed off. "I don't understand why, though..."

'_I believe I do …_' Sai thought to himself for a moment before responding, "Does your stomach feel fluttery if you're near him?" Sai pressed, but he already knew the answer. It was a given, if the other boy was really what Sai thought he was.

"Yes!" Gaara replied quickly, looking almost excited, Sai noted. "Yes, that's how it feels!"

Sai simply smiled calmly, "Well then … it seems my assumption was correct."

"What assumption?" Gaara pushed, suddenly looking nervous and curious at the same time. Was he sick? Was he messed up in the head? "What's wrong with me?" Sai shook his head, and chuckled lightly, as if warning off those sorts of thoughts. He then brought his onyx eyes back to Gaara's, and offered a gentle smile,

"You're in love with him."

With those words, it felt like the world crashed down all over Gaara's head. Shocked, Gaara covered his mouth with a trembling hand, speechless as he ran over the information in his head. _Love …_ He … was _what_? With Sasuke?!

"… Or at least you have a crush on him, anyways," Sai continued idly, musing to himself, looking upwards in thought. "Love _is_ quite a strong word."

Gaara had stopped listening.

* * *

M-D13: Another short chapter, I know, I'm sorry, burn me at the stake if you want ._. Too tired to care right now.

**READ AND REVIEW PLEASE!!!**

**Thank you~**

By the way ... Reviews make me update faster -nudge nudge- HAHAHA like you really want me to xD


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